Beowulf (Devil Arm)



The Beowulf is a set of flash gauntlets and greaves Devil Arm appearing in Devil May Cry 3 which originates from Beowulf. It boosts the wielders attack and speed for close combat, and is able to use chargeable light-based attacks using its technique "blessed with the sacred light". It is wielded by both Vergil and Dante during the course of the game.

Vergil starts the game with this Devil Arm in his scenario of Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition.

Beowulf the Lightbeast


One of the gatekeepers of Temen-ni-gru, half-blinded and sealed away for 2000 years by Sparda, Beowulf is a winged beast who anxiously awaits his chance at revenge. He possesses overwhelming strength and a variety of light attacks.

When Dante enters the Torture Chamber, he senses that Dante has "Sparda's blood", and attacks. Dante defeats and blinds Beowulf, but when Beowulf tries to chase down Dante's scent he instead finds Vergil. Assuming him to still be Dante, he tries to "annihilate every last blood relation of Sparda". However, Vergil immediately kills Beowulf and the demon falls apart, realizing his mistake. This makes Beowulf the only gatekeeper to be killed, rather than simply bested in combat, to make him relinquish his soul. Vergil then takes Beowulf's soul as a Devil Arm. Dante later obtains it after Arkham betrays Vergil and activates the Temen-ni-gru and Vergil falls into an abyss.

Background
Beowulf is the Geatish hero of the Old English poem of the same name. This poem is famous for being the oldest known piece of English literature. It appears that Beowulf and Geryon had their names switched, as Devil May Cry 3 Beowulf more closely resembles the description of Geryon given in the Divine Comedy, while the legendary Beowulf would be more similar to the Devil May Cry 3 Geryon's rider. In the Divine Comedy, Geryon was a chthonic demon representing violence and fraud which had the body of a winged dragon, the arms of a lion, the tail of a scorpion, and the face of an honest man. Dante and Vergil force it to bear them further into Hell, and Vergil protects Dante by sitting between Dante and the beast's deadly tail. It is also possible that the Devil May Cry 3 Beowulf is based upon the literary Beowulf's main foe, Grendel. In particular, Grendel's right arm was ripped off by Beowulf to be used as a trophy, similar to how Beowulf's arms and legs make up its Devil Arm form, and that Beowulf had managed this feat barehanded.

The design for Devil May Cry 3 Beowulf could also be based on Pazuzu, a Sumerian wind demon with the body of a man, the head of a dog, the legs of an eagle, two pairs of wings, a scorpion's tail, and a serpentine penis.

Devil May Cry
A poster of a Beowulf "movie" (Beowulf the Lightbeast) can be seen in Dante's office in Devil May Cry 4.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
Dante uses the Beowulf in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. The skills packed with it are Killer Bee, The Hammer, and Volcano, along with a new ability called Beehive, where Dante kicks rapidly with his greaves then heel smashes the ground and thus acts as a followup to Volcano.

Trivia

 * Beowulf is one of the few weapons which had more than one wielder. Others are Sparda (Force Edge), Yamato, Kalina Ann, Rebellion and Ebony.
 * Most of the Beowulf's moves are allusions to those found in Street Fighter and some of SNK's fighters.